Batik is a dyeing technique using wax resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyeing process. This creates a patterned negative when the wax is removed from the dyed cloth. Artisans may create intricate coloured patterns with multiple cycles of wax application and dyeing. Patterns and motifs vary widely even within countries. Some patterns hold symbolic significance and are used only in certain occasions, while others were created to satisfy market demand and fashion trends.
Resist dyeing using wax has been practised since ancient times, and it is attested in several world cultures, such as Egypt, southern China (especially among hilltribes like the Miao, Bouyei, and Gejia peoples), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka. The technique developed in Indonesia (especially in Java) is among the most sophisticated, although its antiquity is difficult to determine. It first became widely known outside of Southeast Asia when it was described in the 1817 History of Java, leading to significant collecting efforts and scholarly studies of the tradition and crafts. Javanese batik was subject to several innovations in the 19th to early-20th centuries, such as the use of stamp printing of wax to increase productivity. Many workshops and artisans are active today, creating a wide range of products and influencing other textile traditions and artists.
Etymology The English word batik is borrowed from Javanese (Javanese script: , Pegon: ). English dictionaries tend to define batik as a general dyeing technique, meaning that cloths with similar methods of production but culturally unrelated to Javanese batik may be labelled as batik in English. Robert Blust traces the Javanese word as a reflex of Proto-Austronesian and its doublet which means decorations and patterns in general. In Java, the word is only attested in sources post dating the Hindu–Buddhist period, from the 16th century onward. Outside of Java, the word first appears in a 1641 merchant ship's bill of lading as . The term and technique came to wider public notice beyond Southeast Asia following Thomas Stamford Raffles's description of batik process in his 1817 book The History of Java. Colonial era Dutch sources record the word in various spellings, such as , , , and .
History
Ancient to early modern periods
Batik-like resist dyeing is an ancient art form. It existed in Egypt in the 4th century BC, where it was used to wrap mummies; linen was soaked in wax, and scratched using a stylus. It continued to be used into the medieval Byzantine era, although surviving pieces are rare. In Asia, the technique is attested in India, the Tang dynasty in China, and the Nara Period in Japan. In Africa, it was practiced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, as well as by the Soninke and Wolof of Senegal.
The art of batik is highly developed on the island of Java, Indonesia, although the antiquity of the technique is difficult to determine since batik pieces rarely survive long in the region's tropical climate. The Dutch historians G. G. Rouffaer & H. H. Juynboll argue that the technique might have been introduced during the 6th or 7th century from India or Sri Lanka. The similarities between some traditional batik patterns with clothing details in ancient Hindu-Buddhist statuaries, for example East Javanese Prajnaparamita, has made some authors attribute batik's creation to Java's Hindu-Buddhist period (8th-16th century AD). Some scholars cautioned that mere similarity of pattern is not conclusive of batik, as it could be made by other non-related techniques. Since the word "batik" is not attested in any pre-Islamic sources, some scholars have taken the view that batik only developed at the end of Java's Hindu-Buddhist period, from the 16th century onward, following the demise of Majapahit kingdom. However, this view has not taken into account the oldest surviving physical Javanese batik piece, which was only identified in 2022. It is a blue-white valance carbon dated to the 13th or 14th century, which corresponds to the early Majapahit period. The batik's quality and dating suggest that sophisticated batik techniques already existed at the time, but competed with the more established ikat textiles.
Batik craft further flourished in the Islamic courts of Java in the following centuries. The development of prominent batik types was partly motivated by the desire to replicate prestigious foreign textiles (such as Indian patola) brought in by the Indian Ocean maritime trade. When the Dutch East Indies Company began to impose their monopolistic trade practice in 17th century Indonesia, batik cloths were one of the products that stifled their textile sales. Dutch imports of chintz from the Coromandel coast could not compete with locally made batik due to their robust production and high quality.
Modern period
Batik technique became more widely known (particularly by Europeans outside of Southeast Asia) when the Javanese version was described in The History of Java, starting the collecting and scholarly interest in batik traditions. In 1873, the Dutch merchant Elie Van Rijckevorsel gave the pieces he collected during a trip to Indonesia to the ethnographic museum in Rotterdam. Examples were displayed at Paris's Exposition Universelle in 1900. Today the Tropenmuseum houses the biggest collection of Indonesian batik in the Netherlands.
In the 19th to early 20th century, Dutch Indo–Europeans and Chinese settlers were actively involved in the production and development of Javanese batik, particularly "coastal" style batik in the northern coast of Java. Scholars such as J.E. Jasper and Mas Pirngadi published books extensively documenting existing batik patterns. These in turn were used by Dutch and Chinese artisans to develop new patterns which blended several cultural influences, and who also introduced innovations such as (copper block stamps) to mass-produce batiks and synthetic dyes which allow brighter colours. Several prominent batik ateliers appeared, such as Eliza van Zuylen (1863–1947) and Oey Soe Tjoen (1901–1975), and their products catered to a wide audience in the Malay archipelago (encompassing modern Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore). Batik skirts and sarongs, for example, were widely worn by indigenous, Chinese, and European women of the region, paired with the ubiquitous kebaya shirt. Batik was also used for more specialised applications, such as peranakan altar cloth called ().
It is in this time period as well that the Javanese batik production spread overseas. In Subsaharan Africa, Javanese batik was introduced in the 19th century by Dutch and English merchants. It was subsequently modified by local artisans with larger motifs, thicker lines, and more colours into what is now known as African wax prints. Modern West African versions also use cassava starch, rice paste, or mud as a resist. In the 1920s, Javanese batik makers migrating to the eastern coast of Malay Peninsula introduced batik production using stamp blocks.
Many traditional ateliers in Java collapsed immediately following the Second World War and Indonesian wars of independence, but many workshops and artisans are still active today, creating a wide range of products. They still continue to influence a number of textile traditions and artists. In the 1970s, for example, batik was introduced to Australia, where aboriginal artists at Ernabella have developed it as their own craft. The works of the English artist Thetis Blacker were influenced by Indonesian batik; she had worked in Yogyakarta's Batik Research Institute and had travelled in Bali.
Techniques
Production begins by washing the base cloth, soaking it, and beating it with a large mallet. Patterns are sketched with pencil and redrawn using hot wax, usually made from a mixture of paraffin or beeswax, sometimes mixed with plant resins. The wax functions as a dye-resist which prevents colour absorption during the dyeing process. This creates a patterned negative when the wax is removed from the dyed cloth. Using this mechanism, artisans may create intricate coloured patterns with multiple cycles of wax application and dyeing.
The wax can be applied with a variety of tools, including writing with a pen-like tool, printing with a , or painting with a brush. The canting is the most basic and traditional tool, creating what is known as "written batik" (). It allows the creation of very fine, minute patterns but the process is very labour-intensive. Stamped batik () allows more efficient production for larger quantities at the expense of detail.
Written batik
Written batik or (Javanese script: ꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ꦠꦸꦭꦶꦱ꧀; Pegon: باطيء توليس) is made by writing molten wax on the cloth with a pen-like instrument called a (, old spelling ). It is a small copper reservoir with a spout on a wooden handle. The reservoir holds the resist, which flows through the spout, creating dots and lines as it moves. The cloth is then dipped in a dye bath and left to dry. The resist is removed by boiling or scraping the cloth. The areas treated with resist keep their original colour; when the resist is removed, the contrast between the dyed and undyed areas forms the pattern. The process is repeated as many times as the number of colours desired.
Stamped batik
Stamped batik or (Javanese script: ꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ꦕꦥ꧀; Pegon: باطيء چاڤ) is batik whose manufacturing process uses a (; old spelling ) stamp with carved motifs to print an area of the cloth with the resist. The material of the stamp can vary. Medieval Indian stamps tend to use wood. Modern Javanese stamps are made of copper strips and wires, the manufacture of which is a highly skilled process. The rest of the dyeing process is the same as for written batik. The replacement of the with the reduces the effort needed to make a batik cloth, and hence the cost, but still requires skill.
Painted batik
Painted batik or (Javanese script: ꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ꦭꦸꦏꦶꦱ꧀; Pegon: باطيء لوكيس) is a technique of making batik by painting (with or without a template) on a white cloth using a combination of tools such as the , brush, cotton, or sticks to apply the resist, according to the painter. Brush application is especially useful to cover large areas of a cloth. Batik painting is a development of traditional batik art, producing contemporary (free) motifs or patterns. It may use more colours than are traditional in written batik.
Dyeing
The dyeing process is similar regardless of the wax application technique. Waxed cloths are dipped in vats of dye according to the desired colour. Wax is then scraped off or removed by boiling water, leaving a patterned negative on the cloth. The wax application and dyeing are repeated as necessary. Before the invention of synthetic dyes, dyeing was one of the more technically complicated production stages, for several reasons. Natural dyes, mostly vegetal, do not always produce consistent colours between batches. Dyers must take into account how different dye shades interact when cloths go through multiple stages of dyeing with different colours. Many dyers use proprietary dye recipes for this reason, using locally sourced plant materials. Natural dyes also take longer to produce deep shades of colour, extending the dyeing process. Synthetic dyes greatly simplify the process, but produce chemical waste that may be harmful to the environment. Eco-friendliness is one reason some batik producers opt to use natural dyes, despite the availability of synthetic alternatives.
Patterns and motifs